Parricide
On Criminal Law
Parricide
ART.246
Parricide. - Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.
ELEMENTS of Parricide
1. That a person is killed;
2. That the deceased is killed by the accused;
3. That the deceased is the
a. father, mother, or
b. child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or
c. legitimate other ascendant or other descendant, or
d. legitimate spouse of the accused.
The relationship of the offender with the victim is the essential element of parricide.
Essential element: relationship of offender with the victim; except for spouses, only relatives by blood and in direct line (adopted are not included)
Parents and children are not included in the term “ascendants” or “descendants”.
The other ascendant or descendant must be legitimate. On the other hand, the father, mother or child may be legitimate or illegitimate.
The child should not be less than 3 days old. Otherwise, the offense is infanticide.
Supreme Court ruled that Muslim husbands with several wives can be convicted of parricide only in case the first wife is killed.
Relationships must be alleged and proved. If not, the relationship would only be considered as aggravating circumstances.
A stranger who cooperates in committing parricide is liable for murder or homicide.
Even if the offender did not know that the person he had killed is his son, he is still liable for parricide because the law does not require knowledge of the relationship.
Cases of parricide when the penalty shall not be reclusion perpetua to death:
1. parricide through negligence (Art.365)
2. parricide by mistake (Art. 49)
3. parricide under exceptional circumstances (Art. 247)
People vs. Dalag
A stranger who cooperates and takes part in the commission of the crime of parricide, is not guilty of parricide but only homicide or murder, as the case may be. The key element in parricide is the relationship of the offender with the victim.
Bar Exam Question (1994)
Complex Crime; Parricide w/ unintentional abortion (1994)
Aldrich was dismissed from his Job by his employer. Upon reaching home, his pregnant wife, Carmi, nagged him about money for her medicines. Depressed by his dismissal and angered by the nagging of his wife, Aldrich struck Carmi with his fist. She fell to the ground. As a result, she and her unborn baby died. What crime was committed by Aldrich?
Suggested Answer:
Aldrich committed the crime of parricide with unintentional abortion. When Aldrich struck his wife, Carmi, with his fist, he committed the crime of maltreatment under Art, 266, par. 3 of the Revised Penal Code, Since Carmi died because of the felonious act of Aldrich, he is criminally liable of parricide under Art. 246, RPC in relation to Art. 4, par. 1 of the same Code. Since the unborn baby of Carmi died in the process, but Aldrich had no intention to cause the abortion of his wife, Aldrich committed unintentional abortion as defined in Art. 257, RPC. Inasmuch as the single act of Aldrich produced two grave or less grave felonies, he falls under Art, 48, RPC, ie. a complex crime (People vs. Salufrancia, 159 SCRA 401).
ART.246
Parricide. - Any person who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.
ELEMENTS of Parricide
1. That a person is killed;
2. That the deceased is killed by the accused;
3. That the deceased is the
a. father, mother, or
b. child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or
c. legitimate other ascendant or other descendant, or
d. legitimate spouse of the accused.
The relationship of the offender with the victim is the essential element of parricide.
Essential element: relationship of offender with the victim; except for spouses, only relatives by blood and in direct line (adopted are not included)
Parents and children are not included in the term “ascendants” or “descendants”.
The other ascendant or descendant must be legitimate. On the other hand, the father, mother or child may be legitimate or illegitimate.
The child should not be less than 3 days old. Otherwise, the offense is infanticide.
Supreme Court ruled that Muslim husbands with several wives can be convicted of parricide only in case the first wife is killed.
Relationships must be alleged and proved. If not, the relationship would only be considered as aggravating circumstances.
A stranger who cooperates in committing parricide is liable for murder or homicide.
Even if the offender did not know that the person he had killed is his son, he is still liable for parricide because the law does not require knowledge of the relationship.
Cases of parricide when the penalty shall not be reclusion perpetua to death:
1. parricide through negligence (Art.365)
2. parricide by mistake (Art. 49)
3. parricide under exceptional circumstances (Art. 247)
People vs. Dalag
A stranger who cooperates and takes part in the commission of the crime of parricide, is not guilty of parricide but only homicide or murder, as the case may be. The key element in parricide is the relationship of the offender with the victim.
Bar Exam Question (1994)
Complex Crime; Parricide w/ unintentional abortion (1994)
Aldrich was dismissed from his Job by his employer. Upon reaching home, his pregnant wife, Carmi, nagged him about money for her medicines. Depressed by his dismissal and angered by the nagging of his wife, Aldrich struck Carmi with his fist. She fell to the ground. As a result, she and her unborn baby died. What crime was committed by Aldrich?
Suggested Answer:
Aldrich committed the crime of parricide with unintentional abortion. When Aldrich struck his wife, Carmi, with his fist, he committed the crime of maltreatment under Art, 266, par. 3 of the Revised Penal Code, Since Carmi died because of the felonious act of Aldrich, he is criminally liable of parricide under Art. 246, RPC in relation to Art. 4, par. 1 of the same Code. Since the unborn baby of Carmi died in the process, but Aldrich had no intention to cause the abortion of his wife, Aldrich committed unintentional abortion as defined in Art. 257, RPC. Inasmuch as the single act of Aldrich produced two grave or less grave felonies, he falls under Art, 48, RPC, ie. a complex crime (People vs. Salufrancia, 159 SCRA 401).
Bar Exam Question (1999)
Parricide (1999)
In 1975, Pedro, then a resident of Manila, abandoned his wife and their son, Ricky, who was then only three years old. Twenty years later, an affray took place in a bar in Olongapo City between Pedro and his companions, on one hand, and Ricky and his friends, upon the other, without the father and son knowing each other. Ricky stabbed and killed Pedro in the fight, only to find out, a week later, when his mother arrived from Manila to visit him in jail, that the man whom he killed was his own
father.
1) What crime did Ricky commit? Explain.
2) Suppose Ricky knew before the killing that Pedro is his father, but he nevertheless killed him out of bitterness for having abandoned him and his mother, what crime did Ricky commit? Explain.
Suggested Answer:
1) Ricky committed parricide because the person killed was his own father, and the law punishing the crime (Art. 246, RPC) does not require that the crime be "knowingly" committed. Should Ricky be prosecuted and found guilty of parricide, the penalty to be imposed is Art. 49 of the Revised Penal Code for Homicide (the crime he intended to commit) but in its maximum period.
Alternative Answer:
Ricky should be held criminally liable only for homicide, not parricide because the relationship which qualified the killing to parricide is virtually absent for a period of twenty years already, such that Ricky could not possibly be aware that his adversary was his father. In other words, the moral basis for imposing the higher penalty for parricide is absent.
Suggested Answer:
2) The crime committed should be parricide if Ricky knew before the killing that Pedro is his father because the moral basis for punishing the crime already exists. His having acted out of bitterness for having been abandoned by his father may be considered mitigating.
Bar Exam Question (1997)
A, a young housewife, and B, her paramour, conspired to kill C her husband, to whom she was lawfully married, A and B bought pancit and mixed it with poison. A gave the food with poison to C, but before C could eat it. D, her illegitimate father, and E, her legitimate son, arrived. C, D and E shared the food in the presence of A who merely watched them eating. C, D and E died because of having partaken of the poisoned food. What crime or crimes did A and B commit?
Suggested Answer:
A committed the crime of multiple parricide for the killing of C, her lawful husband, D, her illegitimate father, and E, her legitimate son. All these killings constitute parricide under Article 246 of the Revised Penal Code because of her relationship with the victims. B committed the crime of murder as a co-conspirator of A in the killing of C because the killing was carried out by means of poison (Art. 248. par. 3, Revised Penal Code). But for feloniously causing the death of D and E, B committed two counts of homicide. The plan was only to kill C.
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